Book Briefs: August 22, 1969

Evangelicals In Trouble?

Protest and Politics, edited by Robert Clouse, Robert Linder, and Richard Pierard (Attic Press, 1969, 271 pp., $5.95), is reviewed by S. Richey Kamm, professor of social sciences, Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois.

Evangelical Protestants, assert the authors of this volume, are in deep trouble. Their leaders are failing to provide clear answers to the problems of today. Either they are completely absorbed in the propagation of the Gospel of individual salvation, or they are trying to project a biblical social ethic couched in the language of an outmoded nineteenth-century ideology. What evangelicals need, say these eleven angry young men, is an ethic based on the biblical doctrine of love illuminated by the findings of modern historical research and psychological analysis. Since all of them are presently or were previously engaged in the study and teaching of history or political science in American colleges or universities, it is reasonable to suppose that they are in a position to make a contribution to the cause of evangelical Christianity in the realm of public affairs.

The opening essay by Senator Mark Hatfield of Oregon sets a high standard for the other contributors. The call of Christ to evangelicals, he declares, is twofold: (1) “to redeem the citizens of our society and thereby to build a better foundation for government,” and (2) “to be willing to serve God in politics and government if that is where he wants you.” The succeeding essay, building on the Senator’s foundation, argues that Christians must be prepared, also, to accept the responsibilities of the franchise even though the issues be neither black nor white nor the candidates morally upright.

In the nine succeeding essays an attempt is made to challenge evangelicals to the responsibilities of Christian citizenship in a number of controversial areas. Among these arc the problems of militarism, civil rights, the welfare state, prayer in the schools, the population explosion, Communism, the Israeli-Arab conflict, and the war in Viet Nam. Each topic is treated historically or analytically. It is then analyzed in the light of the ethic of Christian love, and suggestions are made concerning an appropriate Christian answer.

The bibliography accompanying each chapter shows that the writers have surveyed a good deal of current literature. Their analysis of issues is helpful, and their attempt to apply the Christian ethic of love is quite stimulating. But in some case the historical analysis is open to question. To identify the American Constitution as “a states’ rights document” with no protection for the personal liberties of the people, as one writer does, and to describe the political economy of colonial America as one of “rugged individualism,” as does another, raises serious questions about the accuracy of some of the contributors.

A more serious issue is raised, however, in the development and application of the Christian ethic of love by some of the contributors. The opening essay had warned against the danger of deducing any particular political point of view or ideology from the Scriptures. Failure to heed this timely warning leads one contributor to assert that there is only one biblical answer to the problem of war and national defense, namely, pacifism. Similarly, the writer on Viet Nam demonstrates a comparable perspective in his historical analysis of the conditions underlying the present conflict and the role of the United States in it. Each writer is, of course, entitled to his personal convictions on the controversial issues discussed, but it is evident that some of these writers have become ideologically committed to the point of being unable to present perspectives held by other Christians.

Most of the contributors have avoided this pitfall. Adult study groups will find the chapters on civil rights, prayer in the schools, the population explosion, and the responsibility of the Christian voter helpful as a sound basis for discussion. The essay on Communism leaves much to be desired because of its identification of the problem with Stalinism rather than the avowedly atheistic Marxist-Leninist ideology which challenges both Western culture and Christian doctrine at every point.

Perhaps the finest chapter on a controversial issue, a chapter which is sound in its scholarship, lucid in its exposition, and genuinely expressive of Christian love in its frank presentation of the alternatives confronting the evangelical, is the one on the Israeli-Arab controversy. This chapter demonstrates the spirit of compassion and intellectual humility that characterizes the initial chapter and that could well serve as a model for the next volume on contemporary affairs to be written by these angry young men.

Illumination On Numbers

Numbers, by Martin Noth (Westminster, 1969, 258 pp., $6.95), is reviewed by Lester J. Kuyper, professor of Old Testament, Western Theological Seminary, Holland, Michigan.

This commentary on Numbers is a significant addition to the “Old Testament Library,” a series that is under the editorial direction of American and British scholars. Many of the works in this series were written in German. With the translation of Numbers, first published in German in 1966, the five books of the Pentateuch have been completed: Genesis, 1961, and Deuteronomy, 1966, by Gerhard von Rad; and Exodus, 1962, and Leviticus, 1965, by Martin Noth. In comparing the works of these much appreciated scholars, I find that Professor von Rad adds much significant theological interpretation, while Professor Noth has primary interests in source traditions, in geographical locations, and in relationships of families, tribes, and nations. Yet I should note Noth’s treatment of a theological problem of Yahweh’s supremacy in the Balaam story (Numbers 22–24).

The introduction deals with contents, sources, and significance of the book. Since Noth is especially skilled in literary criticism and tradition, he seeks the original core of Numbers and the additions that became part of the book to determine the meaning of the book as it finally emerged as a part of the Law, the first part of Israel’s sacred canon. The significant theme is that the promises made to the patriarchs are about to be fulfilled, since Israel has finished her wilderness wanderings and is prepared to cross the Jordan for the conquest.

The numbering of the twelve tribes (Numbers 1) has interesting parallels in other ancient nations, as testified to in Mari. The problem of the excessive number is dealt with carefully. With some diffidence Noth adopts the explanation that “thousand” (’elef in Hebrew) is a military term meaning troup. Thus Reuben’s number, 46,500, would be forty-six troops, the equivalent of five hundred men who bear arms. This explanation would mean that on the average a troop would contain nine or ten men. Thus the number of men bearing arms would not be excessive and would be in line with troop listings of other nations. Professor George E. Mendenhall’s study in the Journal of Biblical Literature (1958:52–66), which unfortunately is not cited, offers detailed elaboration on this solution to the census problem.

The next section in Numbers (3:1–9:14) contains instructions for the Levites and various ordinances largely concerned with the cult in Israel. Here the author shows his wide knowledge of the Old Testament as he relates the materials of Numbers with laws and events both to other parts of the Bible and to practices of the cult in pagan nations.

The remaining part of the book has two sections: “III, Further Sojourn in the Wilderness: 11:1–20:13” and “IV, Preparation for and Beginning of the Conquest: 20:14–36:13.” These sections deal with a few laws and with many historical incidents during the wilderness wanderings. Here the author displays his wide range of knowledge both of the Old Testament and of the surrounding nations and offers many new and helpful insights.

All of us owe a debt to scholars like the late Martin Noth (he died in May, 1968) for shedding light on parts of the Old Testament that we commonly bypass in our study but that were very important in the social and religious life of Jahweh’s covenant people.

On Human Reproduction

Birth Control and the Christian, edited by Walter O. Spitzer and Carlyle Saylor (Tyndale House, 1969, 589 pp., $6.95), is reviewed by David O. Moberg, chairman, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

This “Protestant Symposium on the Control of Human Reproduction” includes many divergent viewpoints supported by biblical and scientific evidence and will prove to be of equal value to Protestants and non-Protestants who are wrestling with pertinent ethical and moral issues. Its tone is indicated by the “Protestant Affirmation on the Control of Human Reproduction,” which emerged as the written consensus of 25 scholars in a four-day consultation jointly sponsored by the Christian Medical Society and CHRISTIANITY TODAY. It declares “that ultimate values come from God through biblical revelation rather than from the human situation alone.” Sexual intercourse is interpreted as a gift of God that includes the purposes of companionship and fulfillment besides procreation.

The papers deal with biblical data and the theological basis, perspectives from the health sciences, medical ethics, societal realties, the legal framework, a historical review, and evaluative responses following the symposium. Statements of several Protestant bodies on relevant topics, Pope Paul VI’s Humanae Vitae, and an excellent classified bibliography appear in appendices.

Conjugal love, the population explosion, the nature and development of the soul, sterilization, artificial insemination, genetics and human reproduction (including the “ethics of genetic duty” and “stewardship of the human gene pool”), and most methods of birth control are discussed in some detail. Fascinating sideline discussions touch upon situational ethics, celibacy, natural law, Teilhard de Chardin’s “neo-evolutionism,” why increased knowledge of contraception is likely to increase the demand for abortion, and numerous other subjects.

There are a few documentation flaws, and some of the authors appear to disregard problems of poverty that are related to birth-control methodologies. Others, however, have a keen sense of such matters as the “growing social anger at hypocritical manipulations of the law so as to favor wealthy candidates for abortion.”

Since, to use the words of theologian Kalland, “a problem so close to the center of human existence has the potential of revolutionizing man in his basic social relationships,” this book has the potential of making Christians intelligent leaders in the current revolution in matters related to sex and birth control. It should prove well-nigh indispensable to those who are in medicine, the biological and behavioral sciences, the ministry, social work, counseling, and teaching. It can also provide a basis for stimulating adult discussion groups related to the family and Christian social ethics.

A Pleasant Book

New Moon Rising, by Eugenia Price (Lippincott, 1969, 281 pp., $5.95), is reviewed by Ann Paton, professor of English, Geneva College, Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania.

It takes courage to burden oneself with a wornout setting (the ante-bellum South), stereotyped characters (the gruff pater familias, the wise old slave, the lovely child-wife, etc., etc.), and a hackneyed plot (how we came through the Waah, suh). But this is exactly what Eugenia Price has done. Rushing in where Margaret Mitchell and a host of others have already trod, Miss Price attempts in a modest 275 pages to recount thirty years of family and national history. Courage she has, and talent too; but such a task would defeat a far more experienced novelist than Miss Price.

She has faithfully done her homework, so that her treatment of the Gould family on their St. Simons Island, Georgia, plantation is convincing in detail and genuine in atmosphere. But these virtues are submerged in a serious flaw of disproportion: e.g., the entire span from Secession to Reconstruction occupies a mere thirty pages at the end of the novel. Miss Price has written some moving passages and memorable scenes. Would she had done so consistently, for her insistence on romping through so much time means that her characters never have a chance to catch their breath of life. The novel opens with a student rebellion (ho-hum, another one) at Yale, in which Horace Gould behaves with a conviction he never again displays. One wonders what happened to all that moral fiber. Late in the book he suffers a sense of guilt for owning slaves—but with no motivation. His convictions have simply emerged full-blown. Horace’s brother Jim, unhappily married, predictably takes to drinking; one day he quits, for no apparent reason, just in time to be brushed out of the novel. Mary Gould is an attractive heroine, potentially a great one; but just as she is achieving full-dimensional humanity, she is thrust aside to her own plantation, hardly to be heard of again. The reader is left dissatisfied, irritated, unsure what, or whom, the book is all about.

In contrast to the hypersexuality of most modern novels, New Moon Rising is so unimpassioned that the appearance of nine little Goulds seems wondrous. Strange, too, to the contemporary mind are such patronizing, Old South expressions as “high-pitched Negro laughter.”

Eugenia Price’s real ability is to describe, to evoke sights and sounds, to recreate moments of high tension. She may one day write first-class fiction. In the meantime, New Moon Rising is a pleasant book. It can be circulated through church libraries, reviewed at circle meetings, or read by teen-age daughters. It cannot be taken seriously as a novel.

Book Briefs

Bible For Children, by J. L. Klink (Westminster, 1969, 319 pp., $4.95). The New Testament is presented for children in narrative, poetry, plays, songs, and illustrations.

Focus: Building for Christian Education, by Mildred C. Widber and Scott Turner Ritenour (Pilgrim, 1969, 146 pp., $6.95). This practical guide uses numerous illustrations in its helpful discussion of church building problems.

The New Israel Atlas, by Zev Vilnay (McGraw-Hill, 1969, 112 pp., $7.95). A combination history and atlas presenting the story of Israel from Bible times to the present.

Practical Studies in Revelation, Volume I, by Theodore H. Epp (Back to the Bible Broadcast, 1969, 212 pp., paperback, $1.50). Deals chiefly with the letters to the seven churches in the opening chapters of Revelation.

Change and the Church, by Erwin L. Lueker (Concordia, 1969, 134 pp., paperback, $3.24). Points to the need for change in the Church if it is to deal with the problems of the modern world and affirms that the Church’s ministry continues to center in Christ.

Everyday, Five Minutes with God, compiled by William S. Cannon (Broadman, 1969, 157 pp., $3.50). Eighty different authors offer a variety of daily devotions in a format designed to cover one hundred days.

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